After almost three months in Kamala the time had come to get out. It was time for a holiday. Now, I know you are probably thinking somewhere exciting overseas, but with our (mine & Angela’s) passports away at the work permit office our choices were limited.
We chose Rawai because it is far enough away from where we normally go, but not to far as spend hours on a bike. After an hour on your bike your arse goes numb. Honestly! Raiwai is a small town in the south of the island, beside Cape Promthep, the southern most point of the island. Saturday morning, despite the looming rain clouds, we set off.
We stopped for brunch at Kata Beach, a large beach full of tourists. After being in quiet little Kamala it was bizarre to see so many foreigners….and pay tourist prices! The beach was quite pretty, but full people on deck chairs and others trying to sell you anything from massages to brooms. We sat on the beach in the rain under our umbrella until, after the third massive downpour, we decided it was time to move on.
After much hunting (thanks to terrible maps!) we found our bungalow hideaway. We were the only guests, so it was quite peaceful. We headed down to the calm flat waterfront of Rawai to check out the long tail boats and fishermen…some actually wearing fisherman pants…then and decided to continue exploring & hit Cape Promthep for sunset. The Cape is renowned for being quite beautiful, and hugely popular. And it was, as evidenced by the tour buses & large number of camera carrying tourists. None the less, we sat on a wall & watched the sunset which was quite beautiful. Dinner was on the water at Nikita’s – heaven – followed by meeting drunken locals & dancing ‘Gangnam Style’ behind a bar.
Sunday we continued exploring & after brunch at a gorgeous cafe (A spoonful of sugar) we ventured to Nai Harn beach. Now, Thailand has some amazing beaches but Nai Harn truly is beautiful. No jet skis or parasailing, just people swimming in turquoise water and a great view..of good looking men…we had finally found all the men on the island! They were living at Nai Harn! Needless to say we stayed for several hours…
After all that sun we needed time out from the beach and to visit The Big Buddah, a large (huge) Buddah statue built on top of a hill with views across the island. Upon arrival, we put on our complimentary hideous sarongs to cover our tempting knees & shoulders and looked around. Well worth a visit, with great views across the island. My favourite part – the bells hanging in the trees that you ring for good luck. I’ve got a lot of good luck coming my way! Dinner was again on the water, at a public park bench turned outdoor restaurant by the locals.
Monday morning it was raining, so we suited up in our attractive rain jackets and set off. Coming into Kata Beach we came down a steep hill, slick with rain. I was leading and Angela was following, when I heard a crash behind me. I looked into my mirror and saw that Angela had braked and skidded in the rain and come off her bike. I braked to stop and see if she was ok when the same thing happened to me. One minute I was braking, the next I was sliding down the hill with my bike on its side in front of me. Must have looked a site – 2 white girls sliding down a hill in tandem! People rushed out of the hotel and helped us up and fetched our bikes. Mine had ended up near the bottom of the hill, nowhere near me. I had totally snapped my left brake off. After dusting ourselves off and suffering only minor bruises and scrapes we got back on the bikes and headed off. Slowly. Guess I’m a local now – I have the ‘Phuket tattoo’.
So all up, a fabulous weekend that will be repeated in the near future. Minus the bike incident!
